Pillow Talk? – Let’s Clean It Up!

Do you have various fabric in your closet and don’t know what to do with it? I do. I particularly have lots of shawls, wraps and head scarfs that I have been given as souvenirs from other people’s vacations.

Let’s Clean Up!

So for many years the fabric has piled up in my small Brooklyn apartment, taking away space from more useful objects like towels and sheets. I even packed away my wedding china in a storage facility to make room for the growing pile of fabric. Well, now that New Years is here, I can delay no longer! TIME TO CLEAN STUFF OUT!(My New Year’s resolution is to make use of my existing fabric or donate it.)And one great way to use my fabric is to make pillows!

A few months ago at Loop of the Loom studio, I saw a kid (really a 12-year-old kid) get out the sewing machine and make a pillow out of his loom project. I was amazed at both the simplicity of the idea and its practicality. It was explained to me that this is a traditional method of making pillows in Japan.

The pillow’s size is determined by the dimensions of the fabric available. (Standard pillow inserts may not work. This pillow type is usually stuffed by hand and sewn closed. You can also make your own pillow inserts for the ease of washing.) This pillow can be made out of any rectangular fabric whose length is a minimum of 3.33 times its width and a maximum of 3.5 times its width. The length of the fabric selected will become the diagonal dimension for the finished pillow.

Directions:

Follow the above diagram to determine if your fabric is large enough to make a pillow.(Cut down the A dimension if needed.) Iron your fabric and fold at the center line with the fabric’s wrong side facing outward. The fold that you just made is FOLD A.

Pin the fabric with the wrong side facing outward. Sew a 1/2″ seam along one long side of the folded fabric so that two sides of the folded fabric are closed (one sewn closed, one closed by the fold) and two sides are open. This seam is labeled: SEAM B.

Sew along the side opposite to the fold with a 1/2″ seam allowance. This is SEAM C. You should now have a fabric pouch.

Draw two lines with chalk. The first line will be 1/2″ from the pouch’s opening on the outside or wrong side of the fabric. Turn the pouch inside out so that the right side of the fabric is facing out. Draw the second line at 1″ from the pouch’s opening. Turn the pouch inside out again so that the wrong side of fabric is on the outside.

Trim the pouch’s opening with pinking shears above the 1/2″ chalk line. Trim the corners of the pouch by cutting a diagonal slice from seam line to seam line. The wrong side of the fabric should still be facing outward.

Fold the pouch in half again so that you have almost a square. Iron the pouch so that the side SEAM C and FOLD A meet.

Turn the pillow inside out so that the fabric’s right side is outside. Pull the fabric out so that the Seam B is flat on the on a table. This seam will be pillow’s center diagonal. Pull the pouch cuff’s ends outward to form a square. Make the sewn cuff and the pinked edge meet to form another diagonal line. Move the sewn cuff to cover the pinked edge. You may have to fold and tack extra fabric at the cuff’s corner edge. Iron the pillow flat.

If the pinked edge and the sewn cuff do not overlap enough, turn the pouch inside out again. Then re-sew Seam C inward in 1/2″ increments until they meet. Don’t forget to cut off the old seam with pinking shears!

Stuff the pillow with poly fill and close the open seam with a blanket stitch or snap buttons.

Creating and Crafting in Brooklyn

I started on the journey of a craft business by creating things for my children and my friends’ children. Many people commented on how they wished to do the same and an idea was born. The projects that I wanted to introduce are beautifully basic in a moderate price range. My site is a place to be inspired, learn creative methods and just have fun.